Master of Shadows
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: He never had the life he deserved. He grew up, unloved, alone, forced to resort to crime to survive. He never knew what it meant to have a home. However, the day he found that ship, that fruit, everything changed. NarutoxHarem, with a new twist! Fluff
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Wow, where did this come from? Bloody challengers. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rare treat I'm about to provide you, as I'm relatively certain that no one has done-or thought to attempt-such an audacious idea as this. Anywho, read, review, and enjoy! _**

**_Oh and...be prepared for spoilers._**

**_The Prodigal _**

A young man was about to make the most important decision of his young life.

He was a handsome fellow, if intense. His blond hair was disheveled, his blue eyes intelligent, his features balanced. Whisker marks tripled each cheek, cheeks that had once dimpled with a constantly bright and enthused grin; no matter the situation or mission. Now, he was intense. His face was hardened, his visage freed of the baby fat that had once plagued him in his younger years. Chiseled and nigh but expressionless, that face was scarred; it bore a series of angry red lines from right ear to left, drooping down his chin and neck yet somehow sparing his lips, lips which pursed now into a small scowl as he surveyed the object held within his hand.

"Well, well," He murmurred softly. "What do we have here?"

Arms upraised, clad in black leather armor that devoured the sun's early light, the man seemed more a god than a mortal. He peered down from the heights, surveying all the carnage at his feet with only the slightest of queasiness. Two bodies lay beneath his feet. One, had been murdered, stabbed to death by another. It was that other whom he'd just slain with the very dagger that the man had used to kill his comrade, leaving the murderer-to-be to perish, to bleed out and die a slow, painful death beneath his boots.

He suspected that the second man might live, if someone were to reach him in time.

The first man had already been dead by the time he'd climbed aboard. The thief had arrived just in time to see the second man, a large man with scruffy clothing and copious chest hair, hefting his prize; a strange, rotund item that he'd stolen from the first man. He'd been so preoccupied with his had been relatively simple to pounce upon him and claim his prize before it could be spirited away.

The source of their quarrel, you ask?

_A purple piece of fruit._

It was a large, round, light purple fruit made up of many small teardrop shaped swirls, sweeping across its surface from root to stem. Green leaves sprouted at the top, a deep and vibrant, earthy green that bellied whatever dread power it containted. Overall, it looked like someone had fused a pineapple with a number of oversized, unusually shaped grapes and painted the whole thing a violent violet.

The thief held the fruit high, and appraised it, turning it over in his hands, marvelling at it and its potential worth. If this was what he thought it was, he was about to become very, very rich. Oh yes, rich indeed. He could sell it for well over $100,000,000. Or, or he could eat it, and risk becoming a hammer, at the cost of whatever dread power that fruit bestowed upon him. Regardless, he needed to make his decision, and quick.

But...

...did he _really_ want to _sell_ this?

He didn't know _what_ he wanted; because it was calling to him. It called to him, begging him to throw caution to the wind, and _indulge._ He was tempted. Sorely tempted. Who was to say, after all, that he could not? There was no one on deck at present, and there would most likely not be anyone for quite some time. Dimly, he remembered that the bodies of two men, one dead, the other dying, still lay at his feet. He had to make a decision. Then he had to make an escape, posthaste.

Therefore, it didn't come as much of a surprise when he found his lips parting, his teeth sinking into the rare delicacy that was a cursed fruit. It tasted...well, he couldn't quite describe the taste; he knew only that it felt squishy and did not taste as any fruit should. But who was he to complain? Especially now, after he'd forgone his better judgement and made such a_-life altering-_decison?

Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all.

He bit a chunk out of the fruit, knowing that it could very well be his last. His vision blurred, and for a moment, he couldn't see where he was. It was almost as if someone had draped a veil across his vision, blinding him. Against his better judgement, he swallowed. That was his second mistake. Pain shot up his larynx, and he choked. Then came the pain, a deep, searing agony that threatened to blot everything else out and smother him in blessed, blissful blackness.

For a moment, he wanted nothing more than that. To die. To be spared from the transformation tearing through his body, rearranging his cellular structure, infusing every cell with a power he'd never before known in his pitiful life as a burglar. Briefly, he wondered if his wish might be granted, somehow. Because the pain was excruciating. It twisted and tore at every fiber of his being and still, he wanted nothing more than to submit.

But he did not die.

He clenched his teeth and willed himself to stop screaming despite the excruciating pain firing through his body. He forced down his bile and took another bite of the fruit, and another, and still another, until only the stem remained of the Then through a dark haze, he saw the vauge shape of his hands. They were as the darkness was; oozing power, intensity, and foulness.

_"You gotta be kidding me."_

Steeling himself against the incessant stream of power, feeling it lance into his chest and spread inside him like ice, he willed his body to move. He stood woodenly, not taking enough care. He held out a hand, his fingers trembling, and an orb of blackness formed over it, hovering in the air. He could feel that power reaching out to him tugging at his blood. He felt it pumping through his chest, dark and heavy from the taint. It moved through him like sludge.

It felt right.

Abruptly, the orb imploded in on itself, winking out of existence, leaving the air around it colder. The thief shuddered. Whatever this power was, he would need time to master the full extent of this power. He would need a great many days_-years, even_-to tame this power, and he no longer had any of that. The sound of footsteps slammed across the deck. Slow and methodical. Lacking, in any sort of haste or trepidation whatsoever. Gulping, the thief risked a glance over his shoulder as the cabin door slammed open, and a massive man emerged, squeezing through the hulking doorframe, a door that had clearly been built while taking his considerable size into consideration.

_ "Gurarara..._

The sky shook and the ship quaked before his approach.

Such was the terror that his prescence inspired, such, was his majesty. He was a great goliath of a man, wielding a mighty glaive in one hand, and the other was clenched into a furious fist, around which the air trembled with an incessant thrumming. Belatedly, the thief recognized him. He knew this man. How could he not? Everyone knew this face; as it stood upon the face of his jolly roger, so too, did the whole world fear it.

_"Gurarara..."_ The man laughed softly, dangerously. "If you have something to say, boy, then you'd best say it now."

The thief gulped, aghast. Of all the crews he could have stolen from, of all the pirate crews that his little boat could encounter here, in the dark, stormy sea, it had to be _him_ it had to be the man closest to One Piece. It had to be the most fearsome pirate ever, the man who treated all of his crew members, all of his allies, like family. The man who'd never forgive an enemy once he set his sights upon him, especially if said enemy attacked one such "son" as this.

_Whitebeard._

He'd snuck onto the Moby Dick!

"Well now, boy," Edward Newgate, possibly the strongest man in the world, peered down at the sweating blond that stood before him. "Have you anything to say, before I kill you? Or perhaps you can tell me what you hoped to accomplish, by stealing from me?" He let the statement hand, unadorned between them, and the lad didn't dare refute his claim. He was right, after all. He just...hadn't expected it to be Whitebeard's ship at the dock!

"I-I didn't kill them!" He protested loudly, suddenly very much aware of the lights flickering on in the lowers decks; the signs of life stirring, returning to the ship. In an instant the deck would be swarmed with Whitebeard's crew, and once _that_ happened, his chances of escape became practically nonexistent. Honestly it wasn't fair! He was just a thief and a humble one at that! Cursed Fruit powers or nor, he couldn't be expected to tangle with Whitebeard and survive! He knew it and dreaded it, dreaded this man's eventual response; as those granite grey eyes narrowed to intense onyx slits of stormy anger.

"Oho?" Whitebeard rumbled. "And why should I take the word of a thief?"

"Because, I...er...oh, _fuck it!"_

The thief flung his hands up in surrender.

"Him!" He pointed to the prostrate form of the pirate he'd supposedly slain, the man now groaning softly and incoherently. _"It was him!_ He killed the other guy! Not me! Do you hear me? Not me!"

"Teach?" Whitebeard inclined his head fractionally. "Why should I choose to believe that, boy?"

"It's not boy!" The thief snarled, his anger bursting forth at the mention of his age. "Naruto! My name is Na-ru-to! My mom gave me that name and I'm damn proud of it and I don't want to hear you call me "boy" ever again, you old geezer!" Too late, he realized his mistake. Too late, he remembered to whom he was speaking. Too late. Much, much, too late. Abashed, the thief clapped a hand over his mouth, lest he sign his own death sentence.

_Damn but he'd really done it this time! _

"Gurarara..."Whitebeard laughed. "How saucy you are!" Then his gaze sombered. "Still, it doesn't change anything. Whether you killed Thatch or not remains to be seen, but, it looks like you ate the cursed fruit he found, didn't you?" Naruto's dour expression spoke volumes, and this time, Whitebeard didn't laugh. "However, it'd be a shame if I let you die here, kid." He grinned, and suddenly, that grin was a terrifying one. "If you still want to wreak havoc on this sea, bear my name on your back and go wild as much as you like...! Become my son, and I'll give you a second chance!"

"See, I knew you wouldn't believe...

Naruto blinked.

..._what?"_

**_A/N: Zyahahaha! That's right! I did the unthinkable! Teach may have murdered Thatch, but now, an unwitting Naruto MAY have in turn murdered Teach! And I think you all know the name of the fruit he just ate. That's right. It's the Yami Yami no mi. Will this make him a villian, however? That, depends on you. He could be perfectly harmless, or he could be the most wicked man to sail the seven seas with a massive harem of sea-faring wenches to boot. Also, as a side note, Naruto's mother, Kushina, is alive and well in this fic, and Naruto has been living with her in his home on Leaf Island (Yes, I invented the name but hey, he had to come from somewhere, right?) Still, goody, or bady..._**

**_...For once, dear readers, the choice is entirely up to you._**

_** Oh, and please review and vote**** until my eyes fall out from reading. Although...being a skeleton...I HAVE NO EYES! YOHOHOHO! SKUUUUUUULL JOOOOOOKE!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Wow, where did this come from? Bloody challengers. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rare treat I'm about to provide you, as I'm relatively certain that no one has done-or thought to attempt-such an audacious idea as this. Anywho, read, review, and enjoy! Sorry if it is short! I may be jobless at the moment but my creativity-and my muse-are just spoiling for a fight at the moment..._**

**_Oh and...be prepared for spoilers._**

**_The Sacrificial _**

"And that's what happened!" Naruto flung up his hands in aggravation as he finally reached the consumation of his tale. "He was going to kill me if I refused! I didn't have any choice but to accept!" Glowering, he jerked one thumb toward his back; now heavily bandaged; because beneath the gauze and the wrappings lay the likeness of the man who had spared him. The face and insignia that so defined that of the Whitebeard Pirates, and of Whitebeard himself, was now as much a part of him as he was it.

The mark of Whitebeard.

He stepped into the hovel that was their home, or rather _was_ his home. For it was a home to him no longer. It had ceased to be his the moment this brand was etched into his flesh, the moment it had seared his soul. From then onward, he'd been forced to accept that life as he knew it, was officially over. He_-like it or not-_had been inducted into that crew of the great Shirohige, and as such, he had been given a leave of twenty-four hours to make his goodbyes.

"See!" He shouted before he could be interrupted. "It was either I get this mark branded into my back, or thrown back in the brig for something I didn't do!" Then more softly, "That's why I haven't been able to come home for the past two weeks." A wince as he pulled his vest back on, revealing the burns that encompassed the entirety of his right arm. "And if that was enough, I was nearly killed on sight by one his crewmates before things calmed down. Damn kid thought I'd gone and murdered one of his nakama."

"Did you," A voice like liquid_-a woman's voice-_asked from just within the hut. "Naruto?"

"I swear, I didn't lay a finger on the guy!" The blond boy swore vehemently, only to realize that he wasn't being accused of anything. "I swear! I didn't even know whose ship that was until it was too late, and I only ate that cursed fruit because I didn't have any other choice! You believe me, right mom? Right?" He let the query hang between them unadorned, filled with so much grief and disbelief that it was almost palpable.

The silence was deafening, and Naruto cursed himself for it.

He hadn't known that the powers of this cursed fruit would make him susceptible to so much pain. He hadn't known that he could negate the powers of other Devil Fruit Users with just a touch, simply by grabbing them. He hadn't about any of that; not until, in desperation, he'd stretched out his hand and caught the boy's burning fist, extinguishing those flames as if they were naught but harmless embers. Apparently, it was now well within his power to manipulate darkness unto it itself. A fearsome ability indeed. One he needed to learn how control if he was to survive in the times ahead.

_"I believe you."_

Naruto looked at her in surprise and then she saw a kind of relief settle over the boy, his face easing, his shoulders losing their tightness. He stepped past the doorway_-a little arch made of little more than caked mud and dried straw-_and trying to prepare himself for what it was that he had to say. He hadn't the slightest clue as to where to begin, let alone how to go begin going about it.

"Mom, I_... _look, there's something else I need to tell you_. Something more."_ It tore at his heartstrings to say this; to separate himself from the woman who'd raised him. But when he looked into her eyes he couldn't do it. Taking in the faint aroma of supper, her stained apron, the weatherworn smile with which she greeted him, Naruto simply could not bring himself to say what needed to be said.

Just like his father, he'd never been particularly good with words. Just like his father, and not at all like his mother.

Kushina Uzumaki was not young, but neither could she be called old. Long, lustrous hair, as crimson as the sun setring behind them, spilled down her shoulders. Her eyes, those twin orbs that were the portals to the most gentle, caring soul, the most soft _soft_, alluring shade of violet, had entranced many men before in the past, and had only ever been wed to one. That man had continued to pass in and out their lives for quite some time, until a few years ago; when his letters_-along with the money they always contained-_simply stopped coming. Perhaps he had finally forgotten about the two of them, he mused.

Perhaps his father had gone on to greener pastures, and moved on toward greater seas. Perhaps he was whoring up another woman, heedless of the wife and child that he'd left behind in the South Blue. Perhaps he truly did miss them, and some unforseen circumstance prevented him from returning. Or perhaps he was dead. Perhaps all of this speculating was for nothing. Regardless, it didn't matter, any of it.

_Why didn't anyone tell me that Whitebeard would be anchoring in our harbor tonight! I thought it was just some merchant ship or something! Not the vessel belonging to the strongest man to ever sail the seas! Argh! What have I gotten myself into? I can't be a pirate! I'm not cut out for this! Hell, I can't even swim now! How can I be a pirate if I can't _

"Naruto...son, you need to go with them."

"See, I knew you'd understand...

His eyes widened wordlessly.

..._what?"_

"I said, you need to go with them." Kushina repeated, her soft, yielding, lacking judgement of any sort. That only made it worse. He'd half-expected her to condemn him, that this was all foolishness; this ambition he had to go out and see the world, to finally meet his father_-wherever he was-_face to face.

Naruto felt his cheeks darken, swelling into a scalding scarlet blush. His pulse spiked, and what little he'd eaten threatened to come up. A sob rose in his throat, and, horrified, he tried to shove it back. Wait, why was he so upset? Was he actually considering it? Was he actually considering the prospect of leaving her, _his mother_ and joining the Whitebeard Pirates on their great journey, all so he could

Naruto looked at her in surprise and then Kushina saw a kind of relief settle over the boy his face easing, his shoulders losing their tightness. He wanted to go. He wanted to live, not just as a boy, but as a man. He didn't want to die, true, but, as she stared into those glassy orbs of sapphire and scarlet, she saw something that reminded her_-eerily-_of that man, of Naruto's father. Minato. That man who was as strange and wild as the sea, yet so incredibly gentle, kind, warm and loving at the same time. She saw a bit of him in Naruto, in her son, in that moment, and it almost brought tears to her eyes; tears of joy.

"I'll be back, mom." Naruto swore, reaching across the table to clasp her hands in his own. "I swear it."

Kushina smiled at her son, and it was in that smile that he truly knew that she bore him no ill will whatsoever. She embraced him, kissed his forehead gently, murrmuring soft words of reassurance, the way that only a mother could. Then she reached across the table, and laid something down between the two of them. Naruto blinked, wondering, as he beheld it-them-a strange series of tri-pronged knives, with rotund, circular handles. And what struck him as incredibly odd was this; the fact that he'd surely seen them but once before.

"These belonged to your father." Kushina reminded him, her words stirring at some misbegotten memory or another. "He wanted you to have them when you were old enough to wield them. Also," She paused, her gaze shifting, sliding toward the room's sole ornamentation; a curved pair of shortswords that hung over the hearth, a _daisho_ sword pair near the mantle., having collected so much dust in their sheathes that one might think that they were soley for ornamentation. Naruto knew better.

"I-I can't take those." Naruto croaked, eyes bulging when he realized that she meant for him to take them with him. "Th-They belong to you, mom." But Kushina Uzumaki said nothing; and it was in this silence that her son realized that she truly meant for him to have them. Slowly, reluctantly, he approached the mantle and removed the weapons as gently as he could, from their perch. Carefully, he slipped them into the sash he wore, side by side, and then, only then, did he take the strangely shaped daggers and slip this strange assortment of weaponry into his pack.

"I...thank you." He managed at last. "I'll take good care of them."

"Of course you will."

He turned, one last time, toward his mother, offering a shaky smile. She embraced him once more, for what, to him, felt as though it might be for the very last time in quite a while. He grabbed onto her slim shoulders as gently as he could, desperate to prevent his pain from showing through. But shown through it must have, as he felt the first tear leak through, followed by another and another and another still. He wept silently, the sobs wracking his shoulders, and yet still, he refused to cry out.

"I'm off." He managed weakly.

At last, with the last of his strength, Naruto broke away to dry his tears. He almost expected to find her eyes moist as well. He did not. Instead,what he found waiting for him was a smile of such boundless confidence that he couldn't help but suffuse some of his mother's resolve into himself. She pressed a warm bundle into his hands, and belatedly he realized it was the

"Do try to have fun, dear."

* * *

It was with these thoughts that Naruto approached the dock.

They were waiting for him. All of them.

"Yo," The youth in the orange hat-Ace-raised a hand as Naruto neared the boarding ramp. "Looks like you decided to come with us after all, huh?" Naruto nodded mutely, with all the enthusiasm you might expect from someone being forced to leave their home under the penalty of death. Ace's exultant expression abruptly turned dour. "By the way, you should know, about Teac...

"What about Teach?" Naruto asked almost immediately thereafter.

"Gone." Ace shrugged begrudgingly. "He disappeared from his cell the night you left us and he hasn't returned since, so its safe to assume that he was the one behind Thatch and his murder, not you." He pursed his lips and exhaled heavily. "So...I'll apologize, for before."

"Eh?" Naruto raised his hands. "There's...really no need for that."

"Yes there is!" Ace insisted. "I almost killed you! Teach is the one who deserves to die, not someone like you!"

"R-Really," Naurot argued, "I'm not all that special."

"Gurarara...its good to see the two of you getting along." Naruto turned as heavy footfalls demanded his attention, and, once again, nearly found himself overwhelmed by the sheer prescence of Whitebeard.

Whitebeard smiled warmly.

"I hereby declare Leaf Island as a part of my territory."

Naruto blinked, aghast.

_"What?"_

You should be grateful." The man known as Marco grinned. "No one will touch this island now that Pops has claimed it."

"That means...?"

Whitebeard laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound.

"Welcome aboard, my son!"

**_A/N: Zyahahaha! That's right! I did the unthinkable! Teach may have murdered Thatch, but now, an unwitting Naruto MAY have in turn murdered Teach! And I think you all know the name of the fruit he just ate. That's right. It's the Yami Yami no mi. Will this make him a villian, however? That, depends on you. He could be perfectly harmless, or he could be the most wicked man to sail the seven seas with a massive harem of sea-faring wenches to boot. Also, as a side note, Naruto's mother, Kushina, is alive and well in this fic, and Naruto has been living with her in his home on Leaf Island (Yes, I invented the name but hey, he had to come from somewhere, right?) Still, goody, or bady..._**

**_...For once, dear readers, the choice is entirely up to you._**

_**Oh, and please review and vote**** until my eyes fall out from reading. Although...being a skeleton...I HAVE NO EYES! YOHOHOHO! SKUUUUUUULL JOOOOOOKE!**_

_**Also, here is a juicy little preview!**_

_(2.5 Years later...preview)_

Even after a year, Syrup Village had been kind to him. Tonight, however, that kindness was about to be tested.

"What do you want with Ms. Kaya?" A cloaked man asked another, a well-off gentleman with thin, reedy features, and rotund spectacles. He'd had his misgivings about this one for quite some time now, but tonight, the butler had shown his true colors.

"You, will stand aside, or you will die." The man known simply as Kurahadol answered. "Actually, for overhearing my plans, you _will_ die. Whether slowly or painfully, remains to be seen."

"Is that so?"

The stranger sighed, raking a gloved hand through roughened blond bangs. He took three steps forward, placing himself between Kurohadol and the door. Blue eyes glistened softly in the darkness narrowing into hardened slits of sapphire. The blackness seemed to swirl around him in the shadow, ebbing and flowing from his very being as though it were somehow _alive;_ ebbing and flowing into his hand, pooling there as he brought it forth from his voluminous sleeve, fingers splayed.

_**"Kurozu."**_

In that instant, three unthinkable events occurred.

First, the lights in the room abruptly guttered out. Second, Kurohadol snarled in disbelief as his feet left the floor. Third, the stranger's free hand snared Kurohadol's neck and hoisted him up by the hem of his jacket, leaving him hanging precariously just above the floor. It was almost as if gravity itself obeyed the stranger. He had simply beckoned, and the butler had flown toward him as if he were a puppet on strings, and _he,_ the puppeteer.

"What madness is this!" Kurohadol hissed, writhing within the taller man's grip. "Release me at once!"

The man laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound.

"I think not, Captain Kuro."

He held the man there and gazed upon him, his eyes little more than twin pinprick of scarlet in the night. Kuro felt the life leaching from his features, even as he looked at him this deadly demon of death that had waylaid his plans time and time again ever since his arrival on Syrup Island. To think, that this man was actually a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, that he actually possessed such a heinous ability...

"Henceforth, I declare this island to be under the protection of Whitebeard." Naruto announced grimly. "And any man such as you, who would threaten that protection...

The sword hissed silently as he drew it forth from its sheathe.

_...shall be punished."_

_**Hope ya liked it!**_


	3. Black Spot

**A/N: Hope ya'll are enjoying the show! This story returns as well! This chapter may be a tad rough, but I'll give you a warning. Brace yourself, dear reader. For in the pages of this chapters...**

_"Zehahahahaha!"_

_~Teach._

**The Black Spot**

It had been weeks since the now-former thief had put Leaf Island behind him, and Naruto had to confess, he felt he was enjoying his time with the Whitebeard pirates. He was still tentative about it, and his missed his mother something

Naruto had been getting help learning about how to control his new powers from Ace, seeing as they were both Logia type-users, but he wasn't making as much progress as he would have liked...good thing Whitebeard knew how to use Haki. It wasn't for nothing that the power of darkness that was granted by Yami Yami no Mi is the strongest, most dangerous power amongst Devil Fruits.

Naruto smelled the salt air and then noticed something in the water that leapt out onto the deck. It was a large blue whale shark fishman with a stocky build similar to a sumo wrestler and a face that looked like an oni and wore a pale red coat. Naruto's eyes widened. Even _he_ knew who this was.

Without stopping to think, the blond just reacted. "INTRUDER ON DECK!" he shouted, lifting Jinbe up and caused his arms and legs to streatch out as Naruto created a set of small black holes and started streatching him limbs like a wrack.

"Whoa, whoa whoa! Easy Naruto! It's ok!"  
"Ace, are you insane?! That's "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe! No way in all Hell am I letting a Shichibukai near the captain!" Naruto said.

"It's all right, he's come here before. Fishman Island is one of the territories under Pop's protection!" Ace said, and he was relieved when his pupil was so shocked, the darkness retracted back into 's body,making Ace consider upping Naruto's training as far as control, then the fire-human helped the Shichibukai stand.

"Sorry Jinbe...new guy." Ace apolgized.

Jinbe grunted, "He was just overzelouse in wanting to defend Whitebeard, I fully understand that. Whitebeard went out of his way to claime Fishman Island as his territory to protect it from the World Government and other pirate attacks simply because he felt it was right to help the people of my home. I understand how badly it would upset the balence of the world should Whitebeard be killed, so I can't blame him."

Naruto gawked. A Shichibukai on friendly terms with a Yoko?

"So what's the occasion for the visit?" Ace asked.

Jinbe sobbered at that "Bad news, I'm afraid. One of the islands under Whitebeard's protection's been attacked."

_"WHAT?!" _Both Naruto and Ace shouted. The former vanished in an instant.

Naruto lurched forward, grabbing Jimbei by the collar, hoisting him into the air.

"Which island?"

Jimbei said nothing.

"Which island?!" Naruto all but roared! The fishmen turned his head aside, sighed.

"Leaf Island."

Naruto felt a black hole open in his stomach.

"No...

* * *

A full moon shone down on that night as well, less bloodthirsty, yet by no means less dire.

Naruto was cursing himself, even as he used his powers as a Yami Ningen-thanks to the Yami Yami no Mi allows the user to control darkness and its unique property of gravity-to shoot up into the air then fly forward at an astounding rate of speed. The air stung at his eyes, cut into his skin, but he didn't care. He had eyes only for the speck in the distance; for his home. This couldn't be happening. He'd been a fool! A stupid ignoramus who hadn't given one iouta of thought to his mother's safety. No...

No...No...No...NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! THAT COULDN'T BE...! IT JUST COULDN'T! HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT!

As he used his gravity powers to fly to the island, his eyes widened and he was so horriified he actually lost control of his darkness powers. Bereft of the power to fly he fell, skidding face-first on the hard surface of the island, scrubbing his face raw.

Yet the pain from the impact didn't register with him at all. How could it? Compaired with what was before him...

Naruto looked up, trembeling all over. His eyes wide and cold sweat breaking out from every pore of his couldn't breath as he looked around at the forest of gallows-like gibbets which covered the chared, glassed-over ground which looked like a piece of charcoal due to all the obsidian, in each of the gibbets were the dead bodies of every man, woman, and child he had grown up with. Everyone on Leaf Island was dead.

And above it all, on a lighthouse-sized spike that rose up from the center of the island, was a giant crucifix with one person attached to it: his dead mother.

Hanging from the spikes used to pin his mother's corpse in place was a flag that had a message written in dried blood on it.

**PIRATES YE BE WARNED!**

The "PIRATES YE" was written along the top, while the "BE WARNED" was written on the bottom, and fraimed by it was something Naruto knew: the Marine emblem of the World Goverment.

Naruto's eyes widened and he felt as though nothing were real. It was like a nightmare. He couldn't breath...couldn't think...this just **COULDN'T** be real!

Naruto felt his heart stop and he gasped as he tried to breath, yet it was no use. As he gasped and tried to keep from passing out, the black smoke-like substance that visually demonstrated his darkness and gravitational powers started spreading out from his body, picking up speed with each useless gasp that left him. Along with that, there was somthing else...something worse than the dark void that devours and crushes everything, sparing not even a ray of light.

Tears.

"Oh...Nh...Ah...AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRAAAGGGG GGGGGGGGHHH!"

Instantly black cascaded through his mind. He floated...floated away...floated into nothingness. For a fleeting moment, he thought he could hear himself screaming. Then he was lost.

Naruto howled, tears running down his face, darkness spreading forth from his body, covering the whole island. The pressure of gravity hanging over the dead land-his former home-spiked to an insane degree, at least a billion times its normal amount. And still, Naruto screamed until his throat was raw until he lost his voice. And still he screamed and wept, blood replacing tears as they fell from his eyes. Yet noting was real...nothing mattered...nothing, except his morning.

As the gravity caused the island to shake, something fell loose from his mother's corpse, yet he took no notice of it.

**"Kabutowari!" **Whitebeard's voice roared and Naruto felt a massivly powerful blow strike him from behind and spots danced before his eyes and he passed out from the force of the blow from Whitebeard, as Naruto lost consciousness, the darkness stopped frowing out of him and the island stopped shaking as the gravity around it returned to normal.

* * *

Naruto awoke in his quarters on the Moby Dick. Yet he bitterly aknowlaged the fact. He was alive. He was alive, yet his entire world was gone...gone forever!

"Yo, Naruto."

He turned over, unwilling to deal with people, so he ignored Ace's voice.

"Naruto...I know this isn't the time, but there's a letter adressed to you...and it's about what happened on Leaf Island." Ace said, his voice as remorseful as Naruto felt.

He sat up and snatched the letter from Ace's hand, nearly ripping it in the process, and poured over it. He needed information...he needed to know who was to blame for this.

_Naruto...that IS your name, right...? I hope you haven't forgotten me or what you did to me._

_Thanks to you, I still owe you since you took from me the very Devil Fruit I desired for over two decades...But I don't hold loosing the Yami Yami no Mi against you since you ate the WHOLE FRUIT. Rather, I thank you for it! I was a fool to think the power of darkness that reduces anything to nothingness from the Yami Yami no Mi was truly invincible and the strongest power amongst Devil Fruits, but I confess I was wrong. I now posess the almighty power of the Jikan Jikan no Mi-the time time fruit!Zehahahaha! If you hadn't attacked me and eaten the entire Yami Yami no Mi, I wouldn't have sought out an even greater force since I didn't bother to look for one, thinking that it was the power of Darkness that was absolute! Zehahahaha!_

_And it is because of that debt that I wanted you to know about this happening to Leaf Island, I hope you know the World Goverment thought the Leaf Island was a pirate port, same as Tortuga. THAT'S why they killed everyone and everything you ever knew and loved. And knowing about the World Government's power to release information on anyone as they please can often lead to the truth being suppressed, altered or ignored all together, you know this'll be either twisted to suit their "Absolute Justice", or supressed compleatly. I was the one who sent you that letter with the 'return home' message on it when I knew they were heading for your home._

_Marshall D. Teach._

The World Goverment had thought his home was a pirate port?! How had they gotten THAT idea?! And Teach had been the one to inform him?! How had he even KNOWN about this? But none of that mattered to Naruto. No...what did was that "And knowing about the World Government's power to release information on anyone as they please can often lead to the truth being suppressed, altered or ignored all together, you know this'll be either twisted to suit their "Absolute Justice", or supressed compleatly" line...they were going to dismiss slaughtering an ENTIRE ISLAND?! The idea if made his blood turn to magma in his veins.

To dismiss this...to dismiss the Goverment's guilt...was to dismiss the lives of his loved ones!

He snarled. Hate errupting in him. The Black Spot was the mark of death to a pirate. And the Goverment had turned his home into one! All on assumption! A giant black spot of death!

Naruto was brought out of his vile feelings as Ace brought him something. "Here...this was all that was left on the island other than...you know..." he said, handing Naruto a sheathed sword.

As he took it and drew the blade, looking it over, he felt something... there was something about the sword that appeared to have a mind of its own,that it seemed bloodthirsty, the feel of the sword's presence mixed in with and meshed perfectly with Naruto's greif and anger.

The sword was a katana-type with the temper line made of red steel in a flame pattern, the hilt itself was wrapped in silver cloth, and held inside a red sheathe. The edge was sharper than any sword even should be, making it easier to use for cutting.

He grinned, knowing why it felt that way all of a sudden-as if the blade were hissing whispers into his ear. "Shodai Kitetsu...a cursed, Saijo O-Wazamono Sword that brings horrible death...perfect!" Naruto said, eyeing the blade with a near-phychotically ravinous look in his face. "You and me, Shodai...we're gonna drown the world with the Goverment's blood!" he said, channeling his Yami powers into the blade, just as Whitebeard did with his bisento and Gura Gura no Mi abilities. At Naruto's words and the darkness flowing off it from the Yami Yami no Mai, the Shodai Kitetsu seemed to shiver with pure elation.

Naruto had to confess he wanted to use this Kitetsu as his primary weapon from now on. After all, this way he wouldn't need to use the daisho sword pair his mother had given him the last time he had saw her alive (the thought was like a cannonball punching through his stomach), since use brings about wear, tear, and rust and he had to take care of them now since the daisho pair were the last remnint of his mother he had left, and he hadn't wanted to take them in the first place anyway.

_'Those damn marines...they won't get away with this!'_

**A/N: Well...damn. The Black Spot indeed! I wonder what could've caused the marines to massacre the people of Leaf Island? Is there more to this than meets the eye? Or was it simply a case of bad information? Will Ace still pursue Blackbeard?! And what will become of Naruto?! Find out next time in...MASTER OF SHADOWS! Yo****ho, and please don't forget to review until my ears fall off. Although, being a skeleton...I have no ears to listen with! YOHOHOHOHO! SKUULLL JOOOOKE! Look forward to plenty of action of next chappy people!**

**Now, in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...review, would you kindly?**

**R&R! =D**


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